STEW WITH VEGETABLES (Türlü)

Growing up, I used to not like this dish. It looked "too mixed up" to me. I liked potatoes or meat but I liked them "solo" not all in one plate. Plus, I didn't like aubergines back then. Seems absurd now. I now like them all in singles or in combination as they form a wonderful taste by coming together.

Ingredients:

• Diced lamb (or beef), 300g
• 1 aubergine
• 1 courgette
• 1 potato
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 pointy peppers
• 1 onion
• Garlic, 3 cloves
• 40 mL vegetable oil
• Salcha (or tomato paste), 2 tablespoons
• Blackpepper
• Salt

Preparation:

• Dice potato, courgette, and aubergine in medium sized cubes and soak all in salty cold water for 10 minutes.
• In a saucepan, add vegetable oil, finely chopped onion and meat. Roast first on a high heat for 10 minutes, then on medium heat for another 10 minutes.
• Add diced tomatoes and pointy peppers and give a stir. (Honestly, I did skipped this step; I don't have pointy peppers and the husband doesn't like tomatoes in dishes. So I added a bit more tomato paste.)
• Add roughly chopped garlic, blackpepper, and salcha/tomato paste and give it a stir.
• Sieve the vegetables, wash under running water briefly and add to the saucepan.
• Add salt, give a thorough stir. Cook with the lid on, on medium heat for 10 minutes.
• Add hot water just enough to cover all, stir, and cook for a further 20 minutes, on medium-low heat, lid on.